Love must have been in the air...or the rocks

A place to explore the natural setting (geology, flora & fauna), people, constructed infrastructure and historical events that play and have played a part in shaping the Sierra Nevada as we know it today.
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balzaccom
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Love must have been in the air...or the rocks

Post by balzaccom »

Just finished reading a great book, "Up and Down California" by William F. Brewer. You may recognize Mr. Brewer, because there is a mountain in Kings Canyon named for him. There's another one named for the professor who supervised his project, a Josiah Dwight Whitney. Yes, that Whitney.

And along as part of the team were such notables as William Gabb, James Gardiner, Clarence King, and Charles Hoffman, all of whom also have notable peaks named for them in the Sierra Nevada.

As you might guess from the title, the book is a collection of his letters as he undertakes the geologic and topographic survey of California in 1860-1864--and covers just about every part of the Golden State. It's a great glimpse into what this place looked like right after the Gold Rush.

And did we mention that Charles Hoffman was in his party? That's Mt. Hoffman in the photo below, with May Lake nestled in its lap.

Image

You might wonder where May Lake got its name...

And we know that answer. It was named by that same survey team for Lucy Mayotte Brown of Oakland. She married Charles Hoffman in 1870, and they lived happily ever after.

How sweet is that?

That's May in the foreground of the photo--looking lovely as ever.

We climbed to the top of Mt. Hoffman in 2009, only a few days after the new trail had been built to the top of the peak. The trail was pretty sketchy in places, but the views from the top of Mt. Hoffman are simply among the best in all of Yosemite.

And May Lake is beautiful, too.
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freestone
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Re: Love must have been in the air...or the rocks

Post by freestone »

Just ordered the book as a summer read, and added Mountaineering in the Sierra Nevada by Clarence King to the wish list. Thanks for the share Balzaccom.
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TehipiteTom
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Re: Love must have been in the air...or the rocks

Post by TehipiteTom »

Sweet story!

balzaccom and freestone, you might both enjoy my sesquicentennial liveblog of Brewer's travels (following Brewer in real time +150 years). (See this thread for more details.) Brewer is currently in the Mono Lake area, after some time in Yosemite...
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maverick
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Re: Love must have been in the air...or the rocks

Post by maverick »

Thanks Tom for re-posting that link, a very fun and interesting read. :thumbsup:
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